ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Purdue basketball's process of self-discovery, accelerated by its first forays into hostile environments, may have experienced a crucial moment on Saturday.

The No. 19 Boilermakers received their best look so far at the kind of team they hope to be. No. 7 Michigan locked down defensively, scorched from 3-point range and rolled to a 76-57 victory at Crisler Center in the Big Ten Conference opener.

Purdue never led — never even pulled even after the game's first 73 seconds — and has lost three of its last four games. All three came against top 25 opponents, though the Boilermakers had chances to beat both Virginia Tech in the Charleston Classic championship and Florida State on Wednesday.

Defending national runner-up Michigan, staking an early claim as perhaps the league's team to beat, made certain Purdue did not have that chance Saturday.

"I think we need to figure some things out after tonight," sophomore center Matt Haarms said. "I don't think we should have lost by this much. I feel we got embarrassed tonight. This is not what this Purdue team should be about. I think we got out-toughed. Some guys weren't ready to play tonight —including me."

Jordan Poole scored 21 points and made all five of his 3-point attempts for Michigan. The Wolverines all but buried Purdue behind the arc early, thriving off penetration and ball movement and hitting 13 of 25 from 3 overall.

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The Boilermakers sophomore center scored five points with one block.
Nathan Baird, jconline.com

Carsen Edwards' 19 points on another high-volume shooting night led Purdue. Ryan Cline scored 15 points, and no other Boilermaker scored more than five.

Purdue cut the Michigan lead to 12 with 6:31 to play. Jon Teske responded with a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer, and Poole hit another 3 to push the lead back to 20.

"We go back to the drawing board," Edwards said. "Just work on doing our jobs better consistently — all the small things, defensively and on the offensive end."

Decisive half

Last season Purdue's decision to switch all five spots on ball screens caught the Wolverines off guard in the Boilermakers' win in Ann Arbor last January. Back then it was a Mortiz Wagner-specific strategy in which Painter was willing to live with a certain number of 3s from the rest of the lineup in order to shut down the now-NBA big man.

Purdue tried that same approach to begin Saturday's game. It failed — though to be fair Haarms wasn't the only player over which the Wolverines were hitting 3-pointers.

Michigan made 9 of its first 13 from 3-point range, and many of them were either uncontested or poorly contested. Jordan Poole and Charles Matthews hit three apiece in the first half and freshman phenom Ignas Brazdeikis hit a pair.

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The Boilermakers' guard score 17 points on 7 of 21 shooting with three assists and five turnovers.
Nathan Baird, jconline.com

"We wanted to switch some things and take them out of there, but had to be clean with our switches," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "We just weren't disciplined enough in what we were doing and they picked us apart. After that you're playing from behind, so it's really hard.

"You're going to have some mismatch isos where they're going to break you down a bit off the dribble, but they were getting us when it was guard-on-guard sometimes."

On the other end, Purdue shot 35.5 percent from the field and endured a could of long scoring droughts.

With possession of the ball to open the second half, Purdue went inside to Haarms, who was fouled on a dunk attempt.

He missed both free throws. Zavier Simpson scored on a layup at the other end, and Michigan remained in control the rest of the way, leading by at least 12 throughout.

Quiet afternoon

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The Boilermakers' senior guard scored 15 points with two assists and two steals.
Nathan Baird, jconline.com

In Purdue's two recent losses prior to Saturday, Edwards had made 40 percent of his shots from the field (28.6 percent from 3) and turned the ball over 14 times against 11 assists.

Saturday he acquired Michigan point guard Zavier Simpson as his shadow from the beginning of the game. While Edwards still earned his points, the Wolverines made him work. Edwards' 19 points came on 7 of 21 shooting, and he turned the ball over five times against one assist.

Painter, who said prior to the season Edwards would rarely leave the floor, sat his star guard for a three-minute stretch of the first half. The reigning Jerry West Award Winner sat for good with 3:27 to play.

Edwards, however, was not the only Boilermaker who struggled against a Michigan defense that came in ranked No. 1 in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency.

Purdue shot 35.5 percent from the floor. While it turned the ball over only nine times, a glut of those came in a stretch of the first half when it began making some defensive stops.

"We had to be more patient, but we also had to get stops on the defensive end," Painter said. "It's a balance. If you're constantly in transition because they're stopping you every time it's a little harder."

Nathan Baird reports on Purdue men's basketball for the Journal & Courier. Contact him at nbaird@jconline.com or 765-420-5234. Follow him on Twitter: @nbairdjc

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The Boilermakers' coach on his team's loss in the Big Ten Conference opener in Ann Arbor.
Nathan Baird, jconline.com